Metro will contract with Centro Cultural and Adelante Mujeres, two organizations with whom the Bicycle Transportation Alliance also partners, for translation, outreach, and to host community events. The Bicycle Transportation Alliance applauds Metro’s efforts to engage diverse communities in transportation planning and to increase everyone’s access to active transportation.

What’s supported by this funding?

The Council Creek Regional Trail would connect Forest Grove and Banks, providing access to the Banks-Vernonia Trail. Source: Metro.

The Council Creek Regional Trail will provide a multi-use path between Hillsboro, Cornelius, Forest Grove, and Banks. In the Climate Smart Communities Scenarios Project, Metro and regional partners are studying and planning for transportation and land use systems that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect our natural environment and livability. The Bicycle Transportation Alliance supports these efforts which will improve access to biking and walking routes in the Metro region.

Currently, people biking between Forest Grove, Cornelius, and Hillsboro must ride on TV Highway, a harrowing and unsafe experience. Bicycle commuting by Latino and Hispanic individuals increased 50% between 2001 and 2009,* yet many communities still lack access to safe, family-friendly bikeways. This includes communities like Cornelius, which is more than 50% Hispanic.** The Council Creek Trail is a step in the right direction, and we also want to see safer facilities on or alongside TV Highway to provide a more direct bicycling route for people riding to jobs, hospitals, markets, and attractive destinations along this east-west corridor.

Coming up at the Oregon Active Transportation Summit

You can continue the conversation on equity and engagement if you’re attending the Oregon Active Transportation Summit on April 21-22. Attendees can join a morning plenary titled “Equitable, Inclusive, and Diverse: how do we prepare for the future of active transportation in Oregon?” moderated by Mara Gross, Director of the Coalition for a Livable Future with panelists Jared Franz, Elizabeth Williams, Janis McDonald, and Mychal Tetteh.

*Source: The League of American Bicyclists, The New Majority: Pedaling Towards Equity (League of American Bicyclists and Sierra Club, 2013), 3. Available online here.